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| Teakwood (tectona grandis) leaves @ Karanganyar, Jawa Tengah |
Indonesia, as the greatest archipelago in the world, automatically has advantages in :
1. Biodiversity (billions species of flora and fauna).
There are more than 40,000 species of flowering plants, including 5,000 species of orchids, as well as the giant flower (Rafflesia arnoldii), the world’s largest flower. There are more than 3,000 tree species, including durian, the King of Fruit (Genus : durio) , which bears large, armoured, odorous yet edible fruit; sandalwood; Shorea macrophylla, which yields illipe nuts, a fruit that contains a fat substance similar to cocoa butter; and valuable timber varieties such as teak and ironwood. Woody rattan (supplejack) vines are abundant in Indonesia’s forests.
Those plants are huge resources for natural dyes. Teakwood leaves, which abundant in Indonesia as the example, have very strong colors for natural dyes fashion.
2. Culturediversity and Sociodiversity.
The archipelago and nature-diversity have created Indonesia to be culture-diversity. According to National Census by Central Bureau of Statistic (the BPS) 2010, Indonesia has 1,340 tribes and etnics, mostly Java (41%).
3. Naturediversity
Those diversities also make Indonesia to have thousands ways to create fashion. Including the way to make colors / dyes for the fashion.
Therefore, Indonesia also has long history of natural dyes, which become treasures for the people of Indonesia and the world. And Ecoprint (Ecologycal Print) is also part of Indonesia's culture.
